Energy, Environment & Transport

EU countries must power neighbours during shortages, under new rules

European Union countries will be obliged to help power households and social services such as healthcare in neighbouring member states in case of severe shortages, under legislation to be put forward by the European Commission next week.

Boosting LNG in the EU is a cornerstone of plans to bolster energy security. [Shell/Flickr]

James Crisp Euractiv 04-02-2016 06:32 6 min. read Content type: Euractiv is part of the Trust Project
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Positions

Transport & Environment said, "LNG is not a silver bullet for the industry because it's still a fossil fuel that releases methane, a powerful global warming agent, 23% more polluting than CO2. EU funding should be used in line with the overall EU climate targets and be channeled properly so that it helps decarbonise the transport sector and not subsidise another fossil fuel."

Background

When he was Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk spearheaded the idea of an EU Energy Union. The idea has since been taken up by the European Commission, which nominated a special Commissioner, Maroš Šef?ovi?, to steer the project.

Details of the proposal started to emerge in February 2015, when the College of Commissioners discussed the plan for the first time. A first communication was published on 25 February, and included an annex of “concrete proposals”, including a list of priority infrastructure projects eligible to receive EU funding.

Šef?ovi? followed up in November, by laying down legislative plans until the end of the Commission's term in 2019.

>>Read: Commission outlines Energy Union legislative path

The Energy Union will cut across a number of policy sectors including energy, transport, research and innovation, foreign policy, regional and neighbourhood policy, trade and agriculture, according to the EU executive's plans.

>>Read: EURACTIV's full coverage on the Energy Union

Last December’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris was hailed as a clear signal that the path to clean energy was irreversible. Governments set a landmark worldwide two degree limit on global warming above pre-industrial levels, with an ambition to cap it at 1.5 degrees.

>>Read: EURACTIV's COP21 coverage

Timeline

  • 10 February: College of Commissioners due to approve Energy Security Package, which will then be unveiled.

Further Reading

European Commission

Updated: 29-09-2024

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